110.235.219.179: ś is an IAST symbol and not an IPA aymbol thus made this correction

2021-06-07T11:01:26Z

ś is an IAST symbol and not an IPA aymbol thus made this correction

New page

{{Otheruses|Shastra (film)|Shaastra}}
{{Hindu scriptures|expanded=Other}}
{{Italic title}}
'''''Shastra''''' ({{lang|sa|शास्त्र}}, [[IAST]]: {{IAST|Śāstra}}, {{IPA-all|ʃaːst̪rə}}) is a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.<ref name=monierwilliamszastra>Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, [[Oxford University Press]], Article on '''[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html zAstra]'''</ref> The word is generally used as a suffix in the [[India]]n literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice.<ref name=lochtefeldshastra626/>

''Shastra'' has a similar meaning to English ''-logy'', e.g. ecology, psychology, meaning scientific and basic knowledge on particular subject. Examples in terms of modern neologisms include
# ''bhautikashastra'' "physics",
# ''[[rasaayana]]shastra'' "chemistry",
# ''jīvashāstra'' "biology",
# ''[[Vastu shastra|vaastushastra]]'' "architectural science",
# ''[[Shilpa Shastras|shilpashastra]]'' "science of mechanical arts and sculpture",
# ''arthashastra'' "science of politics and economics"<ref name="Boesche2003">{{cite journal|author-link=Roger Boesche |last=Boesche |first=Roger |date=January 2003 |title=Kautilya's ''Arthaśāstra'' on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/40432 |journal=The Journal of Military History |publisher=Society for Military History |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=9–37 |doi=10.1353/jmh.2003.0006 |issn=0899-3718 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and
# ''nitishastra'' "compendium of ethics or right policy".

In Western literature, ''Shastra'' is sometimes spelled as '''Sastra''',<ref>JDM Derrett (1973), Geschichte, Volume 1, Series Editor: [[Jan Gonda]], Brill, {{ISBN|978-9004037403}}, pages 34–36</ref> reflecting a misunderstanding of the IAST symbol ‘ś’, which corresponds to the English ‘sh’.

==Etymology ==
The word ''Śāstra'' literally means "that which has been instructed/decreed", from the root ''Śāsana'' which means "instruction/decree".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://sanskrit.uohyd.ac.in/cgi-bin/scl/amarakosha/noun_gen.cgi?encoding=Unicode&rt=शास्त्र&gen=नपुं&jAwi=nA&level=1 |title=Knowledge-Net of Amarakosha (अमरकोश-ज्ञान-जालम्) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=शासना at Spokensanskrit.org | url=https://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&direct=au&script=hk&anz=all&tran_input=शासना+}}</ref>
===Terminology===
"Shastra" commonly refers to a treatise or text on a specific field of knowledge. In early [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature, the word referred to any precept, rule, teaching, ritual instruction or direction.<ref name=monierwilliamszastra/> In late and post Vedic literature of [[Hinduism]], ''Shastra'' referred to any treatise, book or instrument of teaching, any manual or compendium on any subject in any field of knowledge, including religious.<ref name=monierwilliamszastra/> It is often a suffix, added to the subject of the treatise, such as
# [[Yoga]]-Shastra,
# [[Nyaya]]-Shastra,
# [[Dharma]]-Shastra,
# Koka- or [[Kama]]-Shastra,<ref>Alex Comfort and Charles Fowkes (1993), The Illustrated Koka Shastra: Medieval Indian Writings on Love Based on the Kama Sutra, Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN|978-0684839813}}</ref>
# [[Moksha]]-Shastra,
# [[Artha]]-Shastra,
# Alamkara-Shastra (rhetoric),
# Kavya-Shastra (poetics),
# [[Sangeet (music)|Sangita]]-Shastra (music),
# [[Natya]]-Shastra (theatre & dance) and others.<ref name=monierwilliamszastra/><ref name=lochtefeldshastra626>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Shastra" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, page 626</ref>

In [[Buddhism]], a "shastra" is often a commentary written at a later date to explain an earlier scripture or [[sutra]]. For example, Yutang Lin says that a text written by him and not given by Buddha, cannot be called a "Sutra"; it is called a "Sastra". In Buddhism, Buddhists are allowed to offer their theses as long as they are consistent with the Sutras, and those are called "Sastras."<ref>[http://www.yogichen.org/gurulin/efiles/e0/e0103.html The Unification of Wisdom and Compassion Dr. Yutang Lin]</ref>

In [[Jainism]], the term means the same as in [[Hinduism]]. An example of Jaina Shastra is the 12th-century ''Yoga Shastra of Hemchandracharya''.<ref>Amritlal Savchand Gopani (1989), The Yoga Shastra of Hemchandracharya: A 12th Century Guide to Jain Yoga, Prakrit Bharti Academy, {{oclc|21760707}}</ref>

Shastra is sometimes the root of compounded Sanskrit words. A custodian of ''Shastra'', for example, is called ''Shastradhari'' ([[Sanskrit]]: शास्त्रधारी).<ref>[http://dict.hinkhoj.com/words/meaning-of-SHASTRADHARI-in-english.html disctionary meaning of Shastradhari]</ref>

==References in the early texts==
The term is found in several passages of the Rigveda (2nd millennium BCE), such as in hymn VIII.33.16.

{{Quote|
<poem>
नहि षस्तव नो मम '''शास्त्रे''' अन्यस्य रण्यति ।
यो अस्मान्वीर आनयत् ॥१६॥
</poem>
|[[Rigveda]] 8.33.16|<ref>{{translation|"''Neither in thy '''decree''' nor mine, but in another's he delights,The man who brought us unto this.''"}} [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_८.३३ Rig Veda ऋग्वेदः मण्डल ८] Wikisource</ref>}}

In this Rigvedic verse, the term means rule or instruction.

The Maitri Upanishad (mid to late 1st millennium BCE), similarly, mentions the materialist [[Charvaka]]s and Brihaspati who disagreed that the Vedas are a treatise of knowledge, proposing relativism instead, in the following passage:<ref name=mullermaup79/>

{{Quote|
<poem>
बृहस्पतिर्वै शुक्रो भूत्वेन्द्रस्याभयायासुरेभ्यः क्षयायेमामविद्यामसृजत्
तया शिवमशिवमित्युद्दिशन्त्यशिवं शिवमिति वेदादि'''शास्त्र'''हिंसकधर्माभिध्यानमस्त्विति
</poem>
|[[Maitri Upanishad]] 7.9|<ref name=mullermaup79>Max Muller, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/342/mode/2up Maitri Upanishad 7.9], Oxford University Press, page 342</ref><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/मैत्रायणि_उपनिषद् Maitri Upanishad 7.9] Wikisource</ref>}}

The term is found in other Upanishads as well as in [[Bhagavad Gita]] such as in verses 15.20, 16.23–16.24, and 17.1.<ref>Sanskrit: इति गुह्यतमं '''शास्त्र'''मिदमुक्तं मयानघ । एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥ १५-२०॥;<br />English Translation: Winthrop Sargeant (2009), The Bhagavad Gita: Twenty-fifth–Anniversary Edition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0873958318}}</ref>

The ''{{IAST|Ṛigvedaprātiśākhya}}'' (11.36; 14.30) uses the term ''Shastra'' to refer to the ''{{IAST|prātiśākhya}}'' tradition. {{IAST|Kātyāyana}}, {{IAST|Patañjali}} and {{IAST|Pāṇini}}'s ''{{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}}'' use the term. Similarly, the ''{{IAST|Vedāṅgajyotiṣa}}'' uses the term to refer to astronomical treatises. The term ''{{IAST|vedāṅgaśāstrāṇām}}'', refers to the ''{{IAST|śāstra}}'' of the ''{{IAST|Vedāṅga}}''s.

The term "''{{IAST|śāstra}}''" is found in [[Yaska]]'s ''[[Nirukta]]'' (1.2, 14), where the reference is to ''Nirukta'' (etymology). An early use of the term ''{{IAST|śāstra}}'' with reference to the literature on ''dharma'' is found in the ''{{IAST|vārttika}}'' of {{IAST|Kātyāyana}}, who uses the expression ''{{IAST|dharmaśāstra}}''<ref>Olivelle, P. (2006). ''Explorations in the Early History of the Dharmaśāstra'' in P. Olivelle (ed.) ''Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE'', New York: Oxford Unuiversity Press, {{ISBN|0-19-568935-6}}, p.169</ref>

==Chronology and authenticity==
Shastras are predominantly post-Vedic literature, that is after about 500 BCE. However, it is unclear when various Shastras were composed and completed. The authenticity of the manuscripts is also unclear, as many versions of the same text exist, some with major differences. [[Patrick Olivelle]], credited with a 2005 translation of Manu Dharma-sastra, published by the Oxford University Press, states the concerns in [[postmodern]] scholarship about the presumed authenticity and reliability of manuscripts as follows (abridged):<ref name=olivellecriticaledition/>

{{Quote|
The ''MDh'' ([[Manusmriti]]) was the first Indian legal text introduced to the western world through the translation of Sir William Jones in 1794. (...) All the editions of the ''MDh'', except for Jolly's, reproduce the text as found in the [Calcutta] manuscript containing the commentary of Kulluka. I have called this as the "[[vulgate]] version". It was Kulluka's version that has been translated repeatedly: Jones (1794), Burnell (1884), Buhler (1886) and [[Wendy Doniger|Doniger]] (1991). (...) The belief in the authenticity of Kulluka's text was openly articulated by Burnell (1884, xxix): "There is then no doubt that the textus receptus, viz., that of Kulluka Bhatta, as adopted in India and by European scholars, is very near on the whole to the original text."<br />This is far from the truth. Indeed, one of the great surprises of my editorial work has been to discover how few of the over fifty manuscripts that I collated actually follow the vulgate in key readings.
|[[Patrick Olivelle]]|Manu's Code of Law (2005)<ref name=olivellecriticaledition>Patrick Olivelle (2005), Manu's Code of Law, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195171464}}, pages 353–354, 356–382</ref>}}

The literature of late 1st millennium BCE such as [[Arthashastra]],<ref>Patrick Olivelle (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra, Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199891825}}, pages 30–32</ref> and Shastras of various fields of knowledge from the early 1st millennium period is of great interest as it helped the emergence of diverse schools and the spread of Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism in and outside [[South Asia]].<ref name="Boesche2003" /><ref>Robert Lingat (1973), The Classical Law of India, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0520018983}}, page 77;<br />Steven Collins (1993), The discourse of what is primary, Journal of Indian philosophy, Volume 21, pages 301–393</ref><ref>Keay, John, India, A History, New York, Grove Press, 2000</ref>

The shastras are both descriptive and prescriptive. Among the various Shastras, Manu's code of law has been among the most studied as the colonial British government attempted to establish different laws in British India based on [[Sharia]] for Muslims and Manu's code of law.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rudolph |first1=Susanne Hoeber |last2=Rudolph |first2=Lloyd I. |date=August 2000 |title=Living with Difference in India |journal=The Political Quarterly |publisher=Wiley |volume=71 |issue=s1 |pages=20–38 |doi=10.1111/1467-923X.71.s1.4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gaborieau |first=Marc |date=June 1985 |title=From Al-Beruni to Jinnah: Idiom, Ritual and Ideology of the Hindu-Muslim Confrontation in South Asia |journal=Anthropology Today |publisher=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.2307/3033123 |jstor=3033123}}</ref><ref>Pollock, Sheldon, From Discourse of Ritual to Discourse of Power in Sanskrit Culture, Journal of Ritual Studies 4:2, 1990, 315-45</ref>

The shastras are not consistent or a single consensus documents. Dharma-sastras, for example, contain opposing views and contradictory theories. This is in part because they represent an ideal of human behaviour, while at the same time recognising the need to account for likely failings. The shastras do not present life as it was lived. Rather they reveal an idea of what life should be. The shastra texts constitute one of the great bodies of literature of the ancient world.<ref>Doniger, Wendy, The Hindus, An Alternative History, Oxford University Press, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-19-959334-7}} pbk</ref>

==Sutra==

{{main|Sutra}}

Sutras are another genre of Indian texts that emerged in the 1st millennium BCE, particularly after the 600 BCE.<ref>[[Arvind Sharma]] (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195644418}}, page 205-206</ref> ''Sutra'' (literally "binding thread") denotes a distinct type of literary composition from Shastra. In Sanskrit, "sutra" typically referred to one or more [[aphorisms]]; hence sutras use short, aphoristic, evocative statements. In contrast, a Shastra is typically longer, with more detail and explanations. An example of a Sutra is [[Patanjali]]'s [[Yogasutra]]s (considered a classic Hindu treatise), while an example of Shastra is [[Hemachandra]]'s Yogasastra (considered a classic [[Śvētāmbara|Svetambara Jain]] treatise), both on [[yoga]].<ref>Olle Quarnström (2002), The Yogaśāstra of Hemacandra: A Twelfth Century Handbook of Śvetāmbara Jainism, Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|978-0674009349}}</ref>

Shastras and Sutras are among the numerous other genres of literature that has survived from [[ancient India|ancient]] and [[medieval India]]. Other genres include [[Vedas]], [[Upanishads]], [[Vedangas]], [[Itihasa]], [[Puranas]], [[Bhasya]]s, and [[Subhashita]]s.<ref>Ludwik Sternbach (1973), Subhashita – A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature, in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pages 169–254</ref>

==Major shastras by topics ==
{{anchor | Major | Major shahtras | List of major shashtras }}

{{expand section| Read hidden edit comment by clicking edit, expand by adding one-liner description of each listed item, expand the list, etc|date=May 2020}}



* [[Vastu shastra]], architecture
* [[Vastu_shastra#treatise|List of vastu shastra sanskrit treatises on architecture]]
* [[Vaimānika Shāstra]], early 20th-century, sanskrit text on "science of aeronautics"
* [[Dharma Shastra]]:<br>These a genre of [[Sanskrit]] theological texts, and refers to the treatises ([[shastras|śāstras]]) of [[Hinduism]] on [[dharma]]. There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to be 18 to about 100, with different and conflicting points of view.<ref>John Bowker (2012), The Message and the Book: Sacred Texts of the World's Religions, Yale University Press, {{ISBN|978-0300179293}}, pages 179–180</ref>{{refn|group=note|[[Pandurang Vaman Kane]] mentions over 100 different Dharmasastra texts which were known by the Middle Ages in India, but most of these are lost to history and their existence is inferred from quotes and citations in [[bhasya]] and digests that have survived.<ref>Kane, P.V. ''History of the Dharmaśāstras'' Vol. 1 p. 304</ref>}} Each of these texts exist in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to 1st millennium BCE that emerged from [[Kalpa (Vedanga)]] studies in the Vedic era.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), "Dharma Shastras" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pages 191–192</ref>{{Sfn|Patrick Olivelle |1999 |pages=xxiii–xxv}}
* [[Kamashastra]] (Kama Shastra)
* [[Yoga Vasistha]]
* [[Moksopaya]] (mahayana uttaratantra shastra)
* [[Artha Shastra]], financial affairs
* [[Natya Shastra]], performing arts
* [[Surya Siddhanta|Surya Siddantha]], astronomy
* [[Mahayana Sutras]]
* [[Samudrika Shastra]]
* [[Shilpa Shastra]]

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[Vaimānika Shāstra]]
* [[Dharma Shastra]]
* [[Kamashastra]] (Kama Shastra)
* [[Yoga Vasistha]]
* [[Moksopaya]] (mahayana uttaratantra shastra)
* [[Artha Shastra]]
* [[Mahayana Sutras]]
* [[Samudrika Shastra]]
* [[Shilpa Shastra]]
{{col div end}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Hindudharma}}

[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]

Shastra - Revision history

110.235.219.179: ś is an IAST symbol and not an IPA aymbol thus made this correction